1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to a medical device. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an adaptor to prevent water condensation in a breathing assist device such as a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine.
2. Description of Related Art
A breathing assist device supplies air to a user or patient. Normally, when people breathe, the air becomes humid and sufficiently warm to go into the lungs because the human nasal cavity regulates humidity of the air. However, if a breathing assist device is used by the user/patient, the air or medical gas provided by the breathing assist device alone may be very dry so that it harms the trachea. Alternatively, if the air provided does not go through the human nasal system, the air will be too dry for the respiratory system. Over dryness of the inhaled air may harm the trachea and lung tissue. To resolve this problem, an auxiliary device is utilized to provide sufficient humidity to the air/gas supplied from the breathing assist device.
The auxiliary device or humidifier will add moisture and/or heat to the inhaled air or gas. For example, a commonly used humidifier introduces water vapor into the air or gas to maintain a certain degree of humidity so that the air or gas is sufficiently humid to avoid harming the lung tissues because of over dryness. The water vapor stays in the air to maintain the humidity if the air temperature is maintained within a certain range. However, the humidified air/gas is delivered through tubing. As the air passes through the tubes or other surfaces, its temperature will lower. Once the air sufficiently cools, the water vapor carried in the air will condense. As a result, rain-out will occur which means that water will condense inside the tubes or in the mask of the user/patient.
Rain-out can cause the tubing to rattle as air continues to pass therethrough. This is noisy and disturbing to the user and others nearby. Dripping or puddling of water within the mask is also a discomfort for the user. In fact, if enough water accumulates in the mask or end of the tubing, the rain-out can also cause choking of the user. Even worse, some unwanted bacteria can accumulate in the condensed water which can cause an infection for the patient.
Several solutions to the problem of rain-out have been developed. One of the solutions is using a heating element to heat up the tube. As air goes through the tube, it will not cool down and not condense. However, using heating elements can be costly and causes more design complexity.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an apparatus for avoiding water condensation in the breathing assist device. It is further desirable that the apparatus reduces the need to use a separate heating device to remove excess water from the air and thus reduce design complexity and costs.